EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PAGE JANUARY 2022
Turning the Page on 2021
Happy New Year! This month, the Texas Bar Journal looks back on major developments in the law in 2021. In that vein, I’m using my column to highlight some of the State Bar of Texas’ major developments of the past year. I hope you’ll read President Sylvia Borunda Firth’s column on page 12 for a preview of some of what’s coming up for the bar in 2022.
Mandatory Bar Lawsuit
In September, the State Bar Board of Directors approved changes to bar
rules and policies following a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
panel opinion in the McDonald lawsuit challenging the mandatory
bar in Texas. The 5th Circuit opinion upheld the constitutionality of
the majority of the bar’s challenged activities. Last month, U.S.
District Judge Lee Yeakel issued a final judgment in the suit. In
accordance with the 5th Circuit panel opinion, the final judgment
enjoins the State Bar from “using Plaintiffs’ mandatory dues to support
lobbying or legislative activities (including such activities by the
Texas Access to Justice Commission) seeking substantive changes to Texas
law unrelated to regulating the legal profession or improving the
quality of legal services.” Plaintiffs have since filed a petition for
writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. You can read all filings
in the case and find a summary of similar litigation against other
mandatory bars at texasbar.com/mcdonaldvlongley.
New Online Resources
The State Bar is always striving to improve what we do to serve Texas
lawyers. Among our newest member services are two online resources:
Texas Bar Practice and the Advertising Review Portal. Texas Bar Practice
(texasbarpractice.com)
is an umbrella platform where lawyers can find all the State Bar’s law
practice resources such as Texas Bar Books and the Law Practice
Management Program. The Advertising Review Portal is accessible through
lawyers’ My Bar Page at
texasbar.com and allows you or your law firm to easily complete an
advertising review application, upload media files, pay fees, check the
status of recent submissions, and receive status notifications from the
bar.
Disaster Resources for Attorneys
I devoted my May,
June,
and October
2021 columns to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and
the State Bar’s response. It’s worth repeating that the tools available
at texasbar.com/attorneyresources
can help you prepare for disasters and recover quickly when they occur.
This webpage includes disaster planning resources, CLE, and an online
succession planning form that allows you to easily designate a
custodian-attorney who, in the event of your death or incapacity, can
contact your clients, encourage them to obtain other counsel, and assist
in the physical disposition of client files. This is a vital resource
for emergency preparedness and client protection, and volunteering as a
custodian-attorney is a tremendous way for lawyers to help each other.
Lawyer Well-being Resources
The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program created a “Support Toolbox”
resource of online support at
tlaphelps.org that includes more than 20 hour-long videos on
relevant mental health topics to help lawyers, law students, and judges
through these trying times. The site also links to a free, one-hour CLE
course on how to prevent and address suicide and depression in the legal
profession. Confidential help is available anytime by calling or texting
TLAP at 800-343-TLAP (8527).
Exercises in Self-governance
We started 2021 with a first-in-a-decade referendum, in which Texas
lawyers overwhelmingly approved eight proposed disciplinary rule
amendments. Later that spring, lawyers voted to elect Laura Gibson, of
Houston, as the next State Bar president. A longtime state and local bar
leader, Gibson is currently serving as president-elect and will be sworn
in as president during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in
June.
Wishing you the best in 2022!
Sincerely,
TREY APFFEL
Executive Director,
State Bar of Texas
Editor-in-Chief,
Texas Bar Journal
Trey Apffel can be reached at 512-427-1500, trey.apffel@texasbar.com or
@ApffelT on
Twitter.